1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a work inspector and carrier that carries a workpiece such as a mechanical component or an electronic component while inspecting the workpiece, and more particularly to a work inspector and carrier that carries a planetary gear mechanism while inspecting an assembled state of the planetary gear mechanism (detecting, e.g., a load torque).
2. Description of the Related Art
As a conventional inspector that inspects gears and others, there is known an inspector which includes a carrying means for carrying a gear to a predetermined inspecting position, a rotation mechanism that rotates at the inspecting position the gear placed at the inspecting position, a defect detecting means for detecting a defect from the gear rotated by the rotation mechanism, a sorting means for sorting a gear having a defect detected by the defect detecting means and a gear having no defect and carrying the gears out of the inspecting position, and others, and which has a configuration that each gear is rotated by the rotation mechanism after the gear is positioned at the inspecting position by the carrying means. The presence/absence of a defect is inspected by the defect detecting means and the inspected gear is sorted and carried by the sorting means (see, e.g., Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 5-172697).
Further, as another inspector, there is known an inspector which includes: a turntable that is intermittently rotated with a gear mounted thereon; a tooth tip shape inspection mechanism that is arranged to overlap the turntable and inspects a tooth tip shape of the gear placed at a predetermined inspecting position; a tooth groove shape inspection mechanism that is arranged to overlap the turntable and inspects a tooth groove shape of the gear; and others, and which has a configuration that the gear is carried (mounted) onto the turntable. The turntable is intermittently rotated in a predetermined angle steps to position the gear at a predetermined inspecting position, a tooth tip shape and a tooth groove shape of the gear are sequentially inspected and the inspected gear is sequentially carried (taken out) (see, e.g., Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-55340).
However, in these inspectors, the gear carried-in is positioned at a predetermined inspecting position, a predetermined inspection is performed with respect to the gear at the inspecting position, and the inspected gear is carried out to a predetermined carry-out area.
That is, since a series of operations, i.e., carry-in of the gear to the inspecting position, inspection of the gear at the inspecting position and carrying-out of the inspected gear are sequentially performed in the mentioned order, an inspection process and a carrying process are separately required in time series and, in case the inspection process is included as a part of a gear manufacturing process (carrying-in of a material, processing of the gear, inspection of the gear and carrying-out of the gear), the entire manufacturing process becomes long, and there is a limitation on any increase in productivity.
As still another inspector, there is known an inspector which includes: an outer cylindrical body having internal teeth; a plurality of planetary gears that mesh with the internal teeth and have a workpiece receiving hole at the center; a workpiece holding mechanism provided to each of the planetary gears; a sun gear that meshes with the planetary gears; a plurality of CCD cameras arranged around the outer cylindrical body; and others, and which has a configuration in which a workpiece is inserted into the workpiece receiving hole of the planetary gears to be held by a workpiece holding mechanism at a predetermined workpiece supply position. The plurality of CCD cameras take pictures of an outer periphery of the workpiece that changes its direction together with planetary gears that rotate on their axes and orbitally move when the sun gear is rotated so that the outer periphery of the workpiece can be inspected and the inspected workpiece is discharged from a workpiece discharge position (see, e.g., Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-325040).
In this inspector, in an inspection area defined by an orbital region of the planetary gears, the workpiece is inspected while being moved (rotated on its axis and orbitally moved).
However, the workpiece must be moved to perform an inspection and, in case an inspection process is included as a part of a gear manufacturing process, this inspection process must be provided before carrying the gear subjected to predetermined processing to a predetermined carry-out area, and the inspected gear must be carried out to a predetermined carry-out area in a carrying process. That is, since a series of operations, i.e., carrying-in of the gear to the inspection area, inspection of the gear in the inspection area and carrying-out of the inspected gear are sequentially performed in the mentioned order, the inspection process and the carrying process are separately required in time series, and the entire manufacturing process becomes long and there is a limitation on any increase in productivity as described above.